Tarik's Story: “We Were Lucky To Have The Support Of Specialist Lawyers”

When Bournemouth Borough Council decided to reduce the payments for the care of her son Tarik, Mrs Zavadil contacted Irwin Mitchell’s specialist Public Law & Human Rights team for advice.

Tarik, 27, has congenital cerebral palsy, epilepsy and profound learning disabilities, is registered blind and is unable to speak. For 8 years, Tarik lived in his own bungalow helped by his mother and three other members of a care team who provided him with 24-hour care support every day, paid for by the council.

But at the end of 2010, the council told Ms Zavadil that Tarik’s care funding would be cut significantly, meaning he would no longer be able to keep his care team, some of whom have worked with him for over 10 years.

With the help of her legal team at Irwin Mitchell, Ms Zavadil began a fight to preserve Tarik’s support arrangements, fearing that the reduced level of care funding would not meet his complex care needs and leave him at significant risk of harm, a stance backed by expert witnesses.

And, after an 18-month battle, the Council have now finally agreed with Ms Zavadil a new offer of funding which will enable Tarik to continue to fund his round-the-clock care with his current care team.

Ms Zavadil said: “The most important thing in this case has always been Tarik. His quality of life depends on the consistency of his care and he has built up a close relationship with his team over a number of years. We were lucky to have the support of specialist lawyers”.

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